Take Two

A couple of week ago I made this dress for Grace.  It was my first attempt at making it, and without having a pattern I was pretty pleased with the results, but I wanted to try again.  So I did.  Saturday night after my date with the Italian, I stayed up until 2 a.m. (because I'm crazy) finishing my second take at this dress.

I fixed a couple of things on this dress that bugged me about the last one.  First I made it longer, so that I could attach the skirt portion of the dress to the top right below the sleeves.  I couldn't do this on the last dress because it would have made the dress too short, and I don't like little girls in dresses that are too short.  However, on my second take I think I might have made it too long.  Just a bit.  Room to grow which is good.  I really like the fabric I used (the two Amy Butler prints are my favorite), so I won't mind seeing them for several months (years).

I also attached the rick rack before attaching the skirt which helped me to not stretch the shirt out.  Last time I felt like the shirt got really stretched out as I was trying to sew the rick rack to it.  Note to self and all our readers:  Knit stretches, so be careful when sewing with it!

I haven't perfected the lace trim on the gathered layer of the skirt.  My intention is for it to be only the width of the panel on the skirt that has the lace trim running vertically along it.  Don't worry I have all my calculations written down, so next time (yes I will attempt this dress again) I'm pretty sure I know how to fix it.

Who knows next time I make it I might even have a tutorial to share.  Spring is around the corner and I'm thinking this style would convert easily to a short sleeves shirt or tank top instead of long sleeves.  I'm working on it.  Stay tuned.

For now though I'm just going to admire my latest creation and my daughter who likes to pick weeds because she thinks they are flowers.  She sees the beauty in everything.  I love it.

Happy Sewing this week!  Off to bed!